My Friends, McCain's Tic Is Back

Just a brief note about last night: For anyone who didn't heed our warning and wound up playing the Sleuth's official debate watch game as a drinking game (which, again, we did not advocate), you are probably feeling like mildewed leftovers. Or maybe like Jell-O that's been nailed to a wall.

Because given the number of times GOP presidential nominee John McCain said "my friends" last night, you got wasted within the first 45 minutes of the 90-minute mostly predictable tit-for-tat fest.

McCain's "my friends" tic kicked in with a vengeance and he said it not three or four times but a total of 22 times. Several of those times he said "my friend," referring to a questioner in the audience. Moderator Tom Brokaw said "my friend" once, when he announced next week's moderator, CBS's Bob Schieffer. (Obama said "my friends" - not once.)

Perhaps McCain's most poignant "my friend" came when he said, "By the way, my friends, I know you grow a little weary of this back-and-forth."

You got that right, my friend.

UPDATE, 11:33 am ET: We first counted 19 "my friend(s)" references, but now, after searching CNN's official transcript, we count 22. We have changed the posting to reflect the new count. Yes, my friends, McCain used the phrase 22 times within 90 minutes.

Senator McCain's repeated use of "my friends" does not sound avuncular or endearing, but comes across as patronizing. He uses it in situations when clearly, he's dismissive of the person he's addressing.

I had said in another post that he had made it an even 20 on the "my friends" bit, but you're saying that it was 19 times. It must have been the drinking game that I was playing that threw me off. Maverick!

We need two more debates, the one coming up and then one with obama and palin. She;s not afraid to bring all the corrupt stuff obama has pulled over the years. But then again I guess the liberal media wouldn't like that.

One would hope that the American populace would take classes in learning how to analyze information, learn the foundations of democracy and its history in the US and France, learn the rudimentaries of understanding the history and framework of our own Constitution as it is an oxymoron to say you uphold the Constitution when you don't understand it's content. Senator Obama has probably the most excellent insightful, most intelligent, most humane, most ethical record of any candidate we have had in the past eight years. He's simply stated, one of the very best human souls of our times. That he is human is all the more poignant.

I just saw a new poll come out....Dream tickets for the president. Huckabee/Palin comes out 5 to 1 over McCain/Palin. Perhaps the RNC should switch out McCain for Huckabee, they might have a better chance at the white house this year cause I just can't see Obama loosing at this point. The problem is news stations are already calling the race for Obama.....switch it up and have a chance, or should we all stay home and just let Obama take the white house? see poll at http://www.mccanes.com/watchdebatevp.html

One acts as if calling me his "friend" makes it so and the other is winking at me like a waitress at Dennys working for a tip!
Good lord, is it too much to ask that these candidates speak to us intelligently and clearly address the problems facing this country?

Now is the time for good people to stand up and condemn and race-baiting and hate mongering that Palin is stooping to in her campaign appearances. When she incites people to violence by her blatant distortions and her supporters begin shouting "Treason!", "kill him" and "sit down boy" to a black cameraman, courageous people need to stop this by saying enough is enough. It is on white people particularly to call out this mean-spirited, racist people. What kind of country are we if we pander to people who promote violence? God keep Obama and Biden safe, and it will be on Palin's head and conscience (if she has one) if anything happens. Don't allow hate to spread unchecked.

I am disappointed that McCain and Palin have stooped to a new low in attacking a candidate. What they are doing is inciting riotous behavior and potential felony acts.There was a time when they would be arrested for such behavior...if it were reversed, I am sure the FBI/CIA/Homeland Security would bring Obama in for questioning for potentially inciting a crowd to do bodily harm to a US Senator and Presidential candidate. Where is the FBI and the Secret Service...???/ McCain/Palin say That they put the interest of American first... If you trully care about a country why would you attempt to start what could be a race war. This whole thing is getting out of hand and someone better put a stop to it, because we pray that no harm comes to anyone due to the ignorance of McCain and Palin.

My friends, if you're loooking for a brief interlude from the stress of this past week, and want to learn something humorous and interesting about why Members of Congress get caught stealing, thereby risking so much for so little, you need only click below. Enjoy.

Neo-cons...please answer why his "pig" with lipstick was not mentioned......
Could it be because of 1200 dollar rape kits that victims pay in Alaska
Could it be because of the Alaskan Independence Party?
Could it be because of the Alaskan Independence Party sympathized with Timothy McVeigh.
Could it be because of AIP Founder Joe Vogel: “The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government", “and I won't be buried under their damn flag." (Joe Vogel is buried in Canada.)
Could it be because of Vogels' rantings of ....“I’m an Alaskan, not an American. I've got no use for America or her damned institutions." Joe Vogel – Founder.
Could it be because of Dexter Clark, vice chairman of the A.I.P.: refers to the American soldiers in Alaska as "occupying troops."
Could it be because of Michael Hill, a representative of A.I.P., stated on Glen Beck’s program that the goal of the A.I.P. is to dissolve the United States and the Constitution.
Could it be because of a rally in Ft. Myers Monday, a crowd member screamed, "Kill Him" as Sarah laughed and cheered with the crowd.
Could it be because of a fake skinheaded sherriff waddles to the podium after peeeuuu and calls out Barack Hussein Obama to the crowd to further boos and chants of kill him...on Monday
Could it be because of a McCain rally, he asked, "Who is Barack Obama?" and a crowd member yelled out "Terrorist" as McCain held that silly smirk on his addled face.
Could it be because of the reprehensible type of political campaigning is typical of the desperation the Republican Party finds itself in, as their numbers in the polls fall like the stock market...and now even further...

Could it be because of the Alaskan Drug Enforcement report under Palin proved uneffective...

magination is more than the name of a Beatles' tune. It is the heart and soul of how many conservatives justify their outrage. "Imagine" that Democrats want hands off Michele Obama (not so). "Imagine" that Barack's middle name can not be used or he is ashamed of it (not so--it's the way it is used, the context and implied meaning that is criticised). "Imagine" that Social-Demos and Obama will destory this country (not so--just ignore the 10 billion spent monthly on a war in the wrong place, 10 billion shipped shrunk wrapped on pallets to Iran, the no bid contracts to cronies who squandered the money and provided shoddy services, the lost of New Orleans, the collapse of the global credit system, the implosion of the American housing market, and the 159,000 jobs lost last month (that's 5,000 jobs a day!), the trillion dollars of capital wealth lost in s single day!). "Imagine" Barack is Muslim (simply, despite his African kin--NOT SO!) "Imagine" Barack has a hidden agenda for America, a takeover to destroy democracy (not so--and would the military, the Congress, and each state abduct and cede their power?).

"Imagining" is a new system of denial: just make it up, believe it, ignore rising gas prices, failing schools, losing jobs, rising costs, tightening credit, increasing deficits, and "imagine" how much difference a Obama presidency will make! It used to be guilt by assoication; now it's guilt by imagination! Down South, here in Charleston, SC, at Dave's Seafood, we are left shaking our heads and wondering why we ever rejoined the Union!

1. There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. Macbeth - Shakespeare

To dlo : You don't think your praise is a little over the top? Lay off the kool-aid chump. I can't wait for the different tune you all sing 2-4 years from now. Figuring one year for the big O to find his rear end, otherwise known as orientation, that's about how long before you notice that he is unable or unwilling to keep his promises. Not to mention the buyers remorse you will face if he actually does get any of his hair brained ideas past the "no I want the credit" congress and you get the tax bill.

The Ayers-Weber-McCain connection. Truth? Guilt by Association? We report. YOU Decide!

Arnold R. "Arnie" Weber is a Chicago Annenberg Board Member and Chicago "insider". He was a part of the Nixon White House. Arnie Weber has held other Washington "insider" jobs too. He is a LONGTIME REPUBLICAN DONOR. But get this: Arnie Weber was a BOARD MEMBER of the infamous **CHICAGO ANNNENBERG CHALLENGE** organization, which was founded by known "TERRORIST" Bill Ayers!

Sarah Palin was using "guilt by association". This, however, is a two way street but Gov. Palin may not understand this.

NEW INFORMATION SHOWS THAT JOHN MCCAIN HAS ACCEPTED "TAINTED" CAMPAIGN MONEY FROM ARNIE WEBER, AN ASSOCIATE OF BILL AYERS.

Arnie Weber has given the maximum legal amount of $1,500 to the McCain campaign in 2008. He probably would have given more if allowed by law. In 2008, Arnie Weber made two separate donations of $1,000 and $500 to McCain’s presidential campaign run by EX-LOBBYIST AND WASHINGTON INSIDER RICK DAVIS.

I demand that Senator McCain denounce this man, Arnie Weber, and his associations to "terrorists" (as defined by his vice-president, Sarah Palin). I call on Senator McCain to reject these tainted donations. John McCain should then investigate how such a thing could possibly happen inside HIS OWN CAMPAIGN before seeking to cast stones at Senator Obama. McCain's campaign CEO, RICK DAVIS, needs to explain to the AMERICAN VOTERS his reasons for accepting this dirty money. Are they really that desperate to win this election? Doesn't John McCain still believe in the honor that he felt when defending this country against the enemy in Vietnam where he served as a prisoner of war for years?

THE "LIBERAL MEDIA" SHOULD ASK JOHN MCCAIN WHY HE ACCEPTED THIS TAINTED CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THIS "TERRORIST" ASSOCIATE. Incredible as it may sound, Arnie Weber doesn't even DENY that he ASSOCIATED FOR YEARS with a "KNOWN TERRORIST".

This is probably because he hasn't been asked.

Now for the reality check: It turns out that these types of "facts" are simply BASELESS SMEAR ATTACKS WITH NO MERIT! Yes. It is true. Attacks like this are meant to distract the uninformed voters near the end of an election. We don't hear about them very often because most candidates have too much integrity to run them. They know that winning an election based on lies is unacceptable. Besides, people want to talk about REAL issues affecting REAL lives, not play a game of "6 degrees of Kevin Bacon".

Random associations are EASY to find. For instance, it turns out that you can trace Obama's FAMILY TREE to both George W. Bush (10th cousins once removed) and Dick Cheney (eighth cousins). Yep! They are legally RELATIVES. This is yet another useless "fact" for Trivial Pursuit lovers, but it is not worthy of any media time in this national election for the greatest country on God's green earth.

If you want some more guilt by association, here is something to find out for yourself. Who said this? Who supports this guy and his political party? "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government. And I won't be buried under their damn flag."

Guilt by association is an attack on voters and on the electoral process. Voters need to learn about the issues. Governor Palin should apologize for raising this STUPID guilt by association tactic against Senator Obama. And if she REALLY believes what she is saying, she REALLY should demand that they return "Arnie" Weber's campaign donations. Seriously. To do anything short of that would be blatant hypocrisy.

"Sooner or later, people are going to figure out if all you run is negative attack ads you don't have much of a vision for the future or you're not ready to articulate it." [John McCain - The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer - 2/21/2000]

How odd... I don't have any of "My Friends" that own 7 houses... It just shows what an out-of-touch, condescending moron he really is. It truly is a joy watching his campaign slide into the toilet like "Jell-O nailed to a wall".
Good Lord...THIS is the best the Republicans can come up with???

TONIGHT OUR COMPOSITION IS ON PRESS CREATED, THROUGH JOHN MCCAIN'S OWN SCATHING DISHONESTY, PRETENDED YET UNDESERVED HONOR AND HEROIC STATUS...FALSE CLAIMS OF BEING TORTURED INTO GIVING UP EVIDENCE THAT MAY HAVE CAUSED NATIONAL DAMAGE AS WELL AS TROOPS DEATHS (CONTRADICTED BY THE TESTIMONY OF PEOPLE WHO WORKED AT THE 'HANOI HILTON')....FALSELY CLAIMED, TROOP AND VETERAN SUPPORT.... NONE OF THESE CLAIMS SUPPORTED IN THE PUBLIC RECORD OR VOTING RECORD OF JOHN SYDNEY MCCAIN.... AND THE POINTING OF THE HYPOCRITICAL ACCUSATORY FINGER WHILE CHOKING ON THE SMOKE OF YOUR BURNING FACADE.

a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess, a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude, an act or instance of hypocrisy.

THE FLAGRANT FINGER POINTING HYPOCRITE, SENATOR JOHN SYDNEY MCCAIN:

John McCain uses what he believes to be the ULTIMATE TRUMP CARD, an undeserved FALSE HERO STATUS and drunken decieved PRESS anointment of "THE MAVERICK". A Reputation that isn't disputed yet, isn't indisputable.......

A good friend of mine said that McCain has managed to turn "my friends" into an epithet. His use of "that one" to Obama was peevish at best, extremely condescending at worst. McCain is angry because he knows he's blown his chance to be President and he just can't stand it because he has no one to blame but himself.

To call John McCain a cripple and mean it from a deragatory standpoint is down right disgusting. His being a "voluntary" Prisoner of War so that you can have the right to blog whatever uneducated viciousness is something you should be grateful for, not make fun of. That's where his limited movement came from, so you could have yours. You should be ashamed of yourself.

McCain's many my friends , is better than him calling us fellow prisoners, and that's what he did on the stump yesterday.
The man is regressing back to his Vietnam
stay. He is not responsible anymore. That is why he has so many marons working around
him.They know less than he does.

why do the rightie media lapdogs
never call on conservatives when
they fail?
always some one else to blame.
i think the righties were pulled off mama's tit too young
cuz all they do is cry,cry,cry.
too scared to think for yourself
so you let others decide for you.
is that why righties are so paranoid?
as an non-aligned citizen,i realize both
extreme sides have faults but the righties
really seem to be the most immature,selfish,ignorant.
why is that?

McCain was the ONLY ONE OF THE PRISONERS who caved in and told the enemy everything they wanted to know,to save his skin.He stayed behind with the men,leaving WITH THEM so they would not know he was a turn-coat.He &the hate-monger he chose are bad news.He was a traitor to this country,and with her off-the-wall hate speeches,so is she .
Check this out.It's all true.

George, you said why do we count how many times McCain said "my friends" and we didn't listen to the content? It's simple.. there was no content!
McPalin has a big L pasted to his forhead as she does.
The reason Obama doesn't bring into play her preacher who chases witches out of town and the group that "the first dude" was associated with is because Obama has class and doesn't need to lower his campaign into the gutter. Yet, the McPalin campaign STILL brings up any and all LIES that they can get their grimmy little hands on. Hello! It's not working, but keep it up because it is helping Obama's campaign! Thanks.....

I am beginning to feel pity for McCain having to run such a lousy campaign, stuck with advisors and a running mate that seems to have been dredged from leftover sludge, and tied to a sitting president that is a horror movie's central character.

He should have stayed in the Navy and taken his place in history with pops and gramps. The navy would have made sure he was promoted to Admiral and would have given him his 'command' so that he could live up to expectations. The problem was his ambition got the better of him and he believed that his misfortune in war would lead him to political fortune and the Oval Office. Why settle for Admiral when you are entitled to be President? What chutzpah!

The doddering old fool needs to accept his comeuppance and go back to the senate, finish his term and go home to that lovely Sedonnah estate (or any one of the other six homes) to enjoy what's left of his golden years with his heiress trophy wife. Divorcing his first wife and marrying this one does not expunge him of his adultery. God meant it when he said:

4 "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' 5 and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." 7 "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?" 8 Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery." (Matthew 19:4-8, NIV)

18 "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Luke 16:18, NIV)

John Sidney McCain had a prolonged, extramarital affair with Cindy Lou Hensley, divorced his disfigured wife Carol Shepp (it was OK for him to be disfigured but not her), and subsequently married his adulteress. Her fortune and his ambition directed him away from his family's Naval tradition toward the White House.

So now the Republican "party of family values" is led by the adulterous lecher John McCain and a the shotgun bride Sarah Palin. How pathetic! They really believe that the rest of us are that stupid!

May they both go down in crushing defeat along with their coalition of wealth and avarice and may the American people elect the leaders and party that truly cares about family values and social justice, Barak Obama, Joe Biden and the Democratic party.

There was a time when "the fourth estate" had a resposibility to the people and based on that idea, freedom of the press has been a cherished fundamental value that determines a free society. By treating both McCain and Obama sides as equally at fault in negative campaigning, all the media that I have been able to access has completely abdicated their most fundamental responsibility, that of reporting honestly and fairly.
Shame on you!
Yes, this is still America, and we will have the opportunity to smoothly change the leadership every four years, but as long as the fourth estate remains dishonest, the aspirations of millions of patient believers in the American way will continue to be dashed on the rocks of hatred and meanness. In each of the past three presidential elections, the media has slipped a little deeper into the slime that they help create.

My friends, I'm amused that a few people think Senator McCain WON the debate. Of course, it appears that these few already favored McCain, and so were only watching the debates to reinforce the opinions they already held. Can the power of prejudice be underestimated? You betcha!

It is generally taken for granted that because of his prisoner-of-war record war John McCain is an expert on natural security and foreign policy issues, and furthermore, that his character is above reproach. But before I go along that assumption, I’d like to know more about the man.

He claims to know how to win wars, but how many wars has he actually won?

He had been serving in Vietnam for only three months before his plane was shot down, and then was held prisoner for five years. So how could he have known what was taking place on the ground, where the war was being fought? What was the extent of his actual combat experience?

The injury to his arms and legs, where they inflicted under torture by his North Vietnamese guards, as is commonly believed, or were the injuries sustained when his plane crashed?

Would he have been admitted to the Naval Academy if both his father and grandfather were not distinguished and well-connected alumnae? And given the fact that he graduated fifth from the bottom of his class, how much did he actually learn about the art of warfare?

In his visits to foreign countries, did he confer with local community leaders, meet with ordinary citizens, study their history and learn about their customs beforehand; or was he merely escorted around by high government officials and military brass telling him what they wanted him to hear?

He touts himself as a political maverick, but isn’t a maverick, by definition, a loner, the farthest thing from a leader?

He says he knows how to fix the economy, how to create jobs, that he share the concerns of middle class Americans and small business owners; but what qualifies him to make such claims? How many jobs has he created, how many small businesses has he run? Wasn’t he born and raised in a financially secure, tax-payer funded environment—the U.S. Military—and later married into big money?

He says that voters don’t know who the real Barack Obama is. Well, at the risk of sounding unpatriotic, I’d say that it’s he, John Sidney McCain, the one who is wearing the mask, not to mention his unvetted running mate.

As a reformed republican voter, here are my reasons not to vote for McCain:
1. He's an idiot, with no plan for our USA. I keep waiting to hear anything of substance!! He can't even say "Middle Class."
2. He's legally not even eligible to run for president of the USA under our constitution as a non-native born(Panama).
3. He's obviously very stressed and angry--probably because his wife's blood ran cold when HE voted against her son's war money. Maybe he's "frustrated"??
4. He chose an idiot for his VP. I'd take a real pitbull in lipstick anyday over that airhead witchdocter lover and her AIP husband Toddy.
5. He & Phil Gramm deregulated Wall Street-allowing his rich cronies to greedily destroy our coiuntry. (Keating 5 also!)
6. He is an adulterer---if it wasn't right for Clinton, it sure isn't right to vote for a self-admitted one now(that would be hypocritical, right?--of course repugs say "well that's different"...yea!).
7. He votes against Veteran's issues and received a "D" from them for it. Obama & Biden got a "B".
8. He wants to continue his pal Bush's 8 years to another 4--and we won't be here in 4 more years at the rate we're going.
9. IS THIS THE BEST THE REPUG'S CAN GET THIS YEAR? Of course, another one of them would be the same I suppose, so really doesn't matter.
10. If abortion was a real issue, why didn't repub's "fix it" while they had complete power during 6 and 1/2 years of the last 8?(Ironically the only woman I know personally that has had an abortion is a REPUBLICAN!!!)
Enough is enough---I'll never vote republican again--they have shown themselves to be liars, racists, and thugs, and want to do our country in while helping the rich only. One question though---where is the FBI when those nutcases are yelling "Kill Him!"(about Obama)--bet they'd be right on top of it if the Dems were yelling that are Obama rallys about McSame! This truly has been the biggest eye opener of an election ever!!!

You're right Sarah. I need to drink a 6 pack in order to listen to McCain's grating patronizing comments. I know patronizing is a big word for yah Sarah. But they have these new fangled books called dictionaries.....

Where is McCain's flag lapel pin?? Guess he's not a loyal American?? Isn't that what the repugs tried to label Obama because he didn't wear a lapel pin!! McCain/McSame is McAbsent when the nation is really in economic trouble. Each day, the US gets deeper in debt, and McCain is still trying to take us down the same "trickle down" path to redemption. We need new leadership, and Obama is the one who can provide an intelligent, thoughtful way out of this financial mess and into a hopeful future where the middle class will once again prevail and make this nation great!!

Straight from the depths of a non-existent heart, “My friends, my friends!” said the Voice so pathetically, with a note of such infinitely tender reproach that, behind their gas-masks, even the policemen’s eyes were momentarily dimmed with tears…”
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World